WeWork presenting new research at a UK Parliamentary receptionSource - WeWork

It's another potentially tumultuous Wednesday in Britain's House of Commons . Somewhere in the vicinity, Prime Minister Theresa May is limbering up to face a fractious assembly of Conservative Party MPs in a further bid to convince them that her Brexit strategy is not only on track but also in the ‘national interest’.

But in the Members’ Dining Room, a much more tranquil meeting is underway as US-based workspace provider, WeWork unveils new research to an audience of entrepreneurs, VCs, business leaders and maybe just a few Members of Parliament (MPs). Carried out by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), the report seeks to highlight how WeWork’s network of co-working centers is impacting on the wider London economy.

Bigger Than You Think

WeWork’s presence in London is bigger than you might think. According to Ed Vaizey, MP - who hosted the Westminster event - the company is now second only to the UK government itself in terms of occupied Central London office space. Today, the company operates (or is imminently coming on stream) in 39 locations, hosting 600 employees and more than 35,000 members. All of which makes it a significant player in Britain’s entrepreneurial economy.

But exactly how much of a player? Yes, the company accommodates a lot of startups and early stage companies across its various sites and some of them may well go on to become leaders in their chosen markets. But that doesn’t automatically mean that WeWork itself is playing a crucial role in the innovation economy. In theory at least, if WeWork had never opened its doors in the UK capital, other providers would have stepped in. So with the publication of the CEBR report, WeWork is making its claim to be not only a provider of working space, but also a catalyst for economic growth.

From Micro To Macro

As Nina Skero, Head of Macroeconomics, at the CEBR explained, the research was essentially broken down into three parts - namely , the role WeWork plays in the success of member businesses, the impact of WeWork facilities on companies close by, and an analysis of any benefits that might be rippling out to the wider London economy. And as the CEBR sees it , the impact is tangible and positive. “Our analysis shows how collaborative work environments can cause an economic ripple effect which supports local economic development and a city’s vibrancy,” said Skero.

But what does that mean in practice?

Well according to the CEBR, businesses grow faster after getting on board with WeWork. Based on interviews with WeWork members themselves, the consultancy found 34% reporting increased revenues since setting up shop in one of the company's shared workspaces and 81% crediting membership with helping them to grow their productivity. There is also a positive score when it comes to gender diversity. “54% of the company’s members in London are founders compared with 10% in the economy as a whole,” said Skero.

Arguably none of this should raise too many eyebrows. WeWork - like other shared space providers - is in the business of hosting growth-focused startups and early stage companies, so we shouldn’t necessarily be surprised when members actually grow their revenues and their productivity.

Spending Power

But perhaps a bigger question is whether there is any real and positive connection between the businesses that populate shared workspaces and those who ply their trade outside the bubble.

One very tangible benefit highlighted by the report is the spending power that shared workspaces bring to local communities. Or to put it another way, WeWork's spaces are populated by highly skilled people, often on pretty decent salaries, who need somewhere to go at lunchtime or when they turn off their laptops in the evening. The CEBR puts some numbers on this. Clearly hungry and thirsty, WeWork members spend three times as much as average Londoners in cafes, restaurants and pubs, injecting £75m into local businesses.

From here we get into the esoteric world of economic modelling. The CEBR estimates that WeWork generates a 2.1 economic multiplier. In layman’s terms that means every job created by a WeWork member feeds through to a further 1.1 jobs elsewhere. Overall, the CEBR puts WeWork's economic footprint in the capital at £6.3bn. There is also - ostensibly - a boost to the UK’s innovation economy, with 78% of members being involved in high-growth industries compared to just 21% in London as a whole. However, if WeWork didn’t exist, you could argue that these innovators would simply find other homes.

And perhaps what is missing from the report - at least in the published version - is any suggestion that there might be losers as well as winners. For instance, aside from the restaurants and bars that gain, are there businesses that struggle when neighborhoods change. And if so , how should that affect Government policy?

Overall, though, the survey suggests that the growth of the innovation economy - and WeWork along with other shared workspace providers - is having a tangible and beneficial impact that stretches beyond the tech sector, not only to cafes, bars and restaurants but to wider group of businesses that trade with or supply growing startups.

I am a UK-based journalist and author with more than a decade's experience of writing about startups, tech companies and fast growth businesses. My career in journalism began as Business Editor of BBC World television's pan-European text news services. From there I went on t...